Our Daily Bread: Unity in JesusPrimjer

Good Ideas and Good Deeds

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. -Hebrews 10:24

His name was Dino Impagliazzo, but he was better known as “chef of the poor.” Impagliazzo, a 91-year-old renowned chef in Rome, found new purpose in preparing delicious entrees.

He prepared and delivered meals to the homeless via his nonprofit organization. Assisted by about 300 volunteers, Impagliazzo delivered 32,000 hot meals annually to those in need in Rome until his death in 2021. The initiative began in 2006 under the name “Quelli del quartiere,” or “the neighborhood people.”

Impagliazzo came up with the idea when he was walking through the Tuscolana train station in Rome. A man approached and asked him for money. He got to know the man and realized that “perhaps instead of buying one sandwich, making some sandwiches for him and for [his] friends who were there would be better.”

And while it started out with just food, the nonprofit now distributes blankets, clothing, and hygiene products. Impagliazzo said, “We try to involve more and more people so that Rome becomes a city where people can love each other.”

As God’s people band together under the direction and power of the Spirit, we can spur or prod one another toward “love and good works” as the writer of Hebrews encourages (Hebrews 10:24).

And while such ideas often start in the mind and heart of an individual as the Spirit guides, they are best accomplished when we serve together. Such work is a beautiful picture of caring for “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40).

John Blase

What needs could be met in your neighborhood if you had some help? How might God be inviting you to initiate such beautiful work?

Dear God, give me the eyes to see the needs around me.